It's not dead yet. Here's a link that includes the most recent update [August 7th] from the developer. The tire wear issue isn't a deal breaker for me and may not be to bad. At least putting on a new tire won't be any more difficult since the bike remains original. I read that changing a tire on ebike can be very difficult depending on the drive method.

I'm thinking of trading in my 150 cc Derbi scooter for a Honda 250 Nighthawk which was recently rated at 90 mpg by Cycleworld magazine. My scooter is only getting 85 mpg and the Nighthawk gas tank holds 4.3 gallons offering a range of over 350 miles which will mean less waiting time in the soon-coming gas lines.

My son just completed his motorcycle endorsement training and test on a 250 Nighthawk. He wasn't impressed, but admittedly this were the bikes hundreds of prior students had trained on, so who knows what kind of mechanical shape they were in by the time he used his.

Things have certainly changed since 2008 though. Back then, I was still under the impression that motorcycles were great for fuel mileage, and with peak oil having just happened, you knew those 2008 prices were here to stay.

How things change in a decade. Now every car I am responsible for gets better than 30 mpg on the highway, from 300HP convertibles to direct injected, intercooled, turbocharged selectable AWD 4 bangers that go around corners as good as they go in the snow.

And peak oil personal transport? Beats motorcycles hands down, currently at 250 mpg, hasn't had any gas put in the tank since early June. Won't need any until next year. Tank a year cars on the daily driver....thank you peak oil for giving us transport that doesn't need liquid fuels, that we may help save our planet, and separate the true environmentalists from the faux!

Peak oil in 2020: And here is why: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b3ttqYDwF0

NYC relies on electric bicycles to save the day and replace subway service

Electric bicycles have consistently proven to be one of the best methods of navigating urban environments, especially when compared against other alternatives for city commuting.

NYC appears to agree, and will be relying on them to help commuters cope with the temporary closure of a section of the city’s subway system early next year.

Beginning in January of 2019, the western portion of the L train will be shut down for 15 months. This important route crosses between Brooklyn and Manhattan, and carries around 275,000 commuters per day.

MTA has stated that they believe around 195,000 of the daily commuters will be able to divert to other subway lines, but that still leaves around 80,000 commuters in need of another way to get in and out of Manhattan.

While shuttle buses and other methods will make up a large chunk of the solution, NYC is also relying on a new fleet of electric bicycles from Citi Bike’s bicycle share program to pick up the slack and help get New Yorkers to work and back home.

In addition to the 1,250 pedal bicycles and 2,500 docking points that Citi Bike is adding to help alleviate the commuting crisis, they will also be launching an additional 1,000 electric bicycles to ease the crunch.

pstarr wrote:So Outcast, should one parse your latest post as a ringing denunciation of electric bikes? How doomerish? tsk tsk

As I see it, AI electric-bike technology paired Tesla-bored tunnels should be a handy replacement for those outdated, outmoded and antiquated devices we call subways. How jejune and tired was that? It's about time Civilization Ver 1.0 was replaced with something new and exciting.

About time he he he lo

No, just not an ideal (or even good) solution for winter weather, which much of the stretch planned certainly will be. And I'll add bad/stormy weather for all four seasons. Better than nothing for people in good enough health to ride them, and risk a potential lethal accident with a car, when the weather is good? Sure.

In principle, I love eBikes (or the scooters you can ride, more like motorcycles) as an option, when the weather is good. Once they're cheap enough, reliable enough, and repair shops are common enough, they can replace a tremendous amount of in-city commutes, as far as I'm concerned.

I have no problem with subways IF they're well maintained and run well. This is something places like Western Europe seem to handle better than the US, re passenger trains of all types. My problem is with crooked, incompetent politicians who completely mess up a big subway system and abdicate all responsibility. (Source, various NYT articles on the NYC subway fiasco over the past 18 months or so).

Given the track record of the perma-doomer blogs, I wouldn't bet a fast crash doomer's money on their predictions.

While the electric scooter/bike seems a silly solution to replacing a mass transit system, it is perfect for the first and last mile legs of the commute.

Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful.:AnonymousOur whole economy is based on planned obsolescence.Planned obsolescence, one of the largest contributors to the man made element of climate change, but the one least discussed: dolanbaker

dolanbaker wrote:While the electric scooter/bike seems a silly solution to replacing a mass transit system, it is perfect for the first and last mile legs of the commute.

Absolutely, especially in good weather.

My main concern would be with personal safety. I see these small electric scooters driven on my city's streets. They're light, underpowered (i.e. slow even for side streets, esp. with hills), and small enough that they're kind of hard to see -- like kids on minibikes years ago. Riding on sidewalks is illegal, as it should be re pedestrian safety.

Maybe bike lanes would help, but when the kind of idiot driver I see every week smashes you up, "I'm sorry" and lawsuits aren't going to restore your health, or perhaps your life. Hell, after being hit VERY HARD by a drunk at a blind intersection years ago, I ALWAYS wear a seatbelt, drive a modern car with good safety features, and still only feel so-so re being safe when driving. (I scratch my head at motorcycle riders wearing no helmet. To the extent I'm paying for their Obamacare, I'm not even so sure that should be legal.)

Given the track record of the perma-doomer blogs, I wouldn't bet a fast crash doomer's money on their predictions.

This is another example in the long list of stupid government decisions. As Outcast says, closing the line for such a long time through not just one, but two winters is a massive issue for people who regularly use the subway to commute. Instead why not close a small section of the L line from say May-September for upgrading without disturbing the rest of the system, then pause until the next spring and repeat the upgrade on the next section instead of messing up the whole line at once for an extended period? Sure in theory it takes longer to upgrade the whole thing, but on the other hand you create much less disruption and chaos in the process and let people get on with their lives.

I should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, design a building, write, balance accounts, build a wall, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, pitch manure, program a computer, cook, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.